FrostRunner – Student Project Game

FrostRunner is a fast paced first person speedrunning game where you run, jump, slide and grapple your way through its courses as fast as possible to earn a spot on the online leaderboards.

Created by the students of SMU Guildhall, FrostRunner is a very polished first person speedrunner spread across 36 icy courses. It’s more of a first person platformer than a Mirror’s Edge style parkour game, so you don’t roll, climb, wall-run or have to worry quite as much about your momentum. You also have a nifty grappling gun though which can propel you through the air towards your goal.

The main courses in FrostRunner aren’t too tough and can often be completed in under 10 seconds but you’ll need some real skill to master them and climb up the leaderboards. The initial levels are fairly simple, but as you progress new gameplay elements are introduces, such as moving platforms, ice and grappling points.

The grappling mechanics are very satisfying and the ice levels are particularly enjoyable as you don’t have much grip and can pick up some serious speed as you slide down them. There are also collectables hidden around the courses that unlock bonus levels that can offer a real challenge to your platforming skills.

It’d be nice to have more ice levels as they are a particular highlight, but FrostRunner is a great little speedrunning platformer. The responsive controls and easily accessible gameplay make conquering its levels reasonably easy, but conquering those online leaderboards is a different matter!